Car Free Days

Bike Rack Advocacy: A Message For Seattle Schools

Posted on April 7, 2008 by Anne | 2 comments

Full Racks in Portland Just last week, we wrote about the lack of safe bike parking at Seattle’s newly-remodeled Garfield high school. I meant to send the school district an email then but procrastination got the best of me. This evening, Cascade’s Braking News highlighted the problem in it’s Advocacy Issues section; I couldn’t let the opportunity to speak my mind pass again. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in bikes, extravehicular activities, kids, Rack that Bike, seattle

Tagged advocacy, bike advocacy, bike racks, bikes, racks, schools, seattle, Seattle School District

Sproing! Spring has sprung

Posted on April 3, 2008 by Anne | 4 comments

After weeks of cold weather, rain and even some snow, winter finally let go and gave us some warmer days, spring finally arrived in Seattle, perfectly timed for the Seattle School District’s Spring Break. It’s been a good week; we’ve spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful sunny days, on the bike and off. There’s something lovely about this time of the year—the sun is still relatively low so the light is really nice and everything is green. Late frosts this year have messed with our schedule but the warmer days finally conviced the kids and I it was time to prepare the beds and plant the garden. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in BIG Loads, bikes, extravehicular activities, kids, seattle, xtracycle

Tagged BIG Loads, gardening, kids, seattle, Spring, xtracycle

Still going strong…

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Anne | Leave a comment

We didn’t really trade our bikes for an Escalade….we’re having too much fun to do something crazy like that. The four-year-old and I had fun fishing in the creek a few weeks ago. We didn’t catch anything but beer cans, but we had a good time anyway.

– Anne

Movin’ on up… to a not-so car-free life.

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Tim K | 13 comments

We’ve been doing the bike thing for close to a year now and it’s been a pretty nice ride. We’ve lost a few pounds, got in decent shape, reduced our foot print on the environment, and saved some cash. We’ve ridden through rain and sleet and snow and survived it all.

In the meantime though, we kind of feel like we’re missing out as participants in American culture. Sure the Xtracycles can haul a lot, but just try using one after a Costco run for a 50″ Plasma TV, car battery, and family-sized box of ultra slim. It’s just not going to happen. And when was the last time we had time to go spinning class? Riding everywhere takes so long and so much energy that we don’t have a spare time for the gym or audio books or Oprah or anything like that.

We want a car. A big one. Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, consumerism, shopping

Tagged april 1, bikes, craigslist, suv

Update on Mayor Nichols’ racks

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Anne | 3 comments

I recently requested some bike racks for a fairly new commercial strip in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle. Over the past several years some “mixed use” apartment buildings have been built on NE 65th street. In addition to the two large apartment buildings, there are now four restaurants on the two-block stretch. And not a single bike rack. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, neighborhoods, Rack that Bike, seattle, shopping

Tagged bike parking, bikes, cycling, racks, seattle

Bicycle Neglect: $100M Buys Two Bike Racks?

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Anne | 2 comments

Richard Truax, YMCA Earth Service Corps adviser and social studies teacher at Garfield High School wrote an interesting opinion piece in the Seattle PI about what he says is a pathetic lack of bike parking at the Central District school and what he contends is complete indifference on the matter from both the mayor’s office and school district. Give the piece a read yourself, peruse the comments (the one from Beth2000, posted at 3:00 AM, is particularly entertaining – we love the middle-of-the-night-angry-ranting), and form your own opinion. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in bikes, Commute, Human Powered Politics, kids, Rack that Bike, School, seattle

Tagged bike racks, bikes, commuting, seattle, Seattle School District, transportation

Seattle Weather Smackdown: Spring Edition

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Tim K | 5 comments

Who would have thought—rain, sleet, and snow—all on the same ride? Well, maybe in January, but not on March 26th!

Sheesh, it was a wet, cold, and lonely night out there. Not a bit like last week when I enjoyed a lovely spring ride in the company of a backpack-clad fellow commuter all kitted out in Broadmark Capital gear.

As he spun along on his unencumbered rain bike he couldn’t help but comment on me and my Clampett-size load of crap:

“You sure ride with a lot of stuff.”

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in bikes, Commute, weather, xtracycle

Tagged bike, bike commuting, commuting, downpour, rain, raingear, seattle, snow, weather

Kona Ute: Poor Choices at a Good Price

Posted on March 24, 2008 by Tim K | 13 comments

Garrish on Bikes, Mostly wrote a Kona-Ute post about a photo I took at the NAHBS last month. My photo showed a wooden snapdeck and sideloader-like bag combo on a Ute. Garrish and readers wondered a) if it was homemade—it was. Props to the owner/builder if you are out there; and b) Why the heck wasn’t Kona sticking with the Xtracycle accessories, snapdeck, and the like.

For weeks now, I’ve been wondering about that too, and mulling over the lame choices Kona made when rolling their “own” long bike design. But before I open my can of whoop-ass, I’d first like to applaud Kona for their work with the Africa Bike, Bike Town Africa and the adopt an Africa bike program.

Way to go guys. Nice work there.

Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in bikes, cargo bikes, consumerism, longbikes, xtracycle

Tagged business, Kona Ute, longbikes, xtracycle

Life Lessons from a Preschooler

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Anne | 5 comments

The four-year-old and I journeyed over the University Bridge to pick up some ski helmets we scored on Craigslist. We pulled into the Red Robin parking lot a few minutes early and waited for our helmet connection to show. While we were waiting, the little guy noticed the Bryce Lewis ghost bike memorial on the corner of Fuhrman and Eastlake. Continue reading →